Shakespeare's Henry V (Act I, scene 2) by Laurence Olivier

[kldirectv2]

Not "the Dolphin" but . ..

The Dauphin of France (French: Dauphin de France, IPA: [dofɛ̃])—strictly, The Dauphin of Viennois (Dauphin de Viennois)—was the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830. The word is literally the French for dolphin, as a reference to the animal they bore on their flag.

[pliteni]

I hated this version. I understand the need for war propaganda, so let's treat the movie as such, not a piece of art, or worse, a masterpiece!

[240soundwave]

the arch bishops voice is exactly the same as that of the librivox recording! it must be the same guy

[BigDon62]

Although presently there is no direct reference pertaining to The Office of Prime Minister in Australia's Constitution, one can forgive anyone that wishes Salic Law to be enshrined in it, after the dismal performance of a member of the fairer sex these past twelve months !

[supershoot1000]

really long speech

[crazyman8472]

It's a little annoying when Henry (Olivier) says "dauphin" as if it were "dolphin". Oh well, nobody's perfect. ;)

[squanto2]

@crazyman8472 Didn't he say dolphin to insult the Dauphin?

[Versipelles]

@crazyman8472 I THINK he does that 1) to preserve the meter, and 2) because it actually was "the Dolphin" in the 1600 Quarto edition of the play (and after all, the title is actually derived from the dolphin hauriant borne on the arms of the Counts of Vienne).

[afohara]

Just a followup note to the below. None of us need be slaves to "culture" out of some social obligation. Over the years I've seen marvelous productions of Shakespeare. I've also seen some real butchery done poor Bill. Thinking the latter doesn't mean I believe Shakespeare is bad. It may mean I think the ACTOR or director is a bad one.

But bless their hearts for trying.

[afohara]

@handsomechuck: I agree with everything you say. I'm not sure who you're taking issue with. I wasn't talking about Shakespeare, Henry V or Olivier (the guy playing Henry in this video :)

I was referring to the Kenneth Branagh 1989 version of Henry V, with it's blood, melodrama and special effects, to Olivier's more artistic, shoe-string budgeted (because of WWII) magic.

A matter of preference is all, not Shakespeare. Watch both, which are good, but see what I mean.

[afohara]

@Seraph: I was referring to Kenneth Brennagh's popular movie version of Henry V in 1989, which I thought was far too over-acted. I much prefer the simple elegance of Olivier's approach, which delighted me as a boy in a college theater in 1960 :)

[Bregowald]

@afohara yes, Olivier's version is far better. agreed.

[afohara]

Brannagh's Henry was very Hollywood with entertaining bluster for the groundlings, but Olivier captures the quiet power and eloquence of Shakespeare in its purest and most beautiful form.

[Saraph]

@afohara Are you serious? Are you sure you didn't switch the names or something..?

[handsomechuck1]

@afohara I take issue with what you are implying. The plays are entertainment, first and foremost. Shakspear needed to make plays that were enjoyable to watch. They are many other things as well (chief among them the greatest literary art), but there is no way of enjoying a Shakspear play that is better than any other. To paraphrase Harold Bloom, all reasons for Shakspear's popularity are eternally valid. You're not lowbrow or "doing it wrong" if you find Henry V rousing.

[Cogniscent1]

Some fine comic acting in a scene that Felix Aylmer and Robert Helpmann played for laughs, making the eventual threat of war all the more effective for its serious change of mood. Laurence Olivier was electrifying — subtle, witty and then stirring.

[who3697cares]

To people making fun of the costumes - These are what they wore back then in the 1600's. In Shakespeare's plays, the actors dressed up in (then) contemporary clothing so people would know their occupation, social class, and other things. The point here was to show people what the play would have looked like in Shakespeare's time, Branagh only wants to change it into a modern-day adventure.

[rosinlr]

What's beautiful about art is that one can and does make comparisons, but personal preference is what makes one performance better than the other. Context is key to any interpretation. I would far better watch Olivier's vision, but that doesn't make it better than Branagh's; both are brilliant.

[tranurse]

brannagh's henry was better. he was downright scary when he gives this speech. plus, larry looks like the burger king.

[damanhl]

It's kinda hard to accept this kind of interpretation when the really first encounter I had with Henry V (and Shakespeare for that matter!) was the Branagh movie. The jolly tone and costumes seem odd. But hey...Olivier delivers every time!

[DrinkWater22]

Agreed. Branagh's interpretation was closer to the text, Olivier had to connect with the audience, and make a propaganda film. But what he truely achieved was a accessible Shakespeare film that Branagh improved many years later.

[krosero]

Olivier is so great. Thanks for uploading this.

[GreatGrumbledook]

Someone should have told good old Shakespeare that the Franks are a Germanic tribe as are the Angelo-Saxons, so this laughter about German women could very well be boomerang as well as this stupid war time propaganda; moreover this mock about the bloodlines and ancestry, which Oliver made out of this scene, does ridicule most of all the English or say House of Lancasters claim to the French throne. Shakespeare is as always pardoned but not Oliver, the costumes in the movie are too laughable...

[Lytton333]

@GreatGrumbledook Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.

[GreatGrumbledook]

@Lytton333: Sure, but you could have quoted Shakespeare instead straight and so spared the world your foolish wit:

TOUCHSTONE The more pity, that fools may not speak wisely what wise men do foolishly.

CELIA By my troth, thou sayest true; for since the little wit that fools have was silenced, the little foolery that wise men have makes a great show.

[DrinkWater22]

How well done was this scene? Olivier's first scene an lines of his first Shakespeare film and he's off in the background or off-screen! Not very common back then for a star willing to sacrafice is intro for art's sake.

[stevevandien]

Great stuff. And James Agee, a great writer and one of my favorites, ROCKED with his review of this splendid film:) --

[BuryMe8]

And where's Scene 1??

[jaxhead]

The Salic Law speech is one of the hardest in the canon. Aylmer handles it here brilliantly!

[stevevandien]

Having read the play, I didn't get the great humor in this speech until seeing and hearing Aylmer:)--

[brychar66]

Splendid!